Hi...I've read how helpful all of you are and was wondering if you could give me any information on the coin I'm going to describe. On the front, it says 1898 TOAA, in the center of the fron it has the number 1 and under the number 1 is the word KOUSNKA...the letter that I think is an "S" is hard to distinguish and the "N" is backwards. Under that word are the initials C.M.R. (And I can't really be sure of that because they are real small!) Along the edge of the coin is a wreath and the wreath reaches up to the 1898 TOAA on either side. The flip side of this coin is really hard to describe. I can tell you that there is writing that is so small along the edge of the coin, and at one point on the left and right side of the edge, it almost looks like there is a Celtic knot. The center looks like it might be a combination of a crest and a spread-winged bird of some kind. I have scans of this coin, but I'm not sure how to post them yet. Thanks, again, for any help you might be able to give me.
Guess it is a coin like this one ... http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/Archives/imperialGranny/coins/images/coin40_obv.jpg http://www.hunterian.gla.ac.uk/Archives/imperialGranny/coins/images/coin40_rev.jpg That is a Russian 1 kopek coin. The "1898 TOAA" refers to the year when it was minted. The characters are the Cyrillic G, O, D and A, and "goda" means year AFAIK. The initials below are Cyrillic "SPB" - the mintmark for St. Petersburg. On the other side you see the Russian double eagle, surrounded by some Russian text. I don't speak Russian but I think the top part means something like "Russian Mint (or Money?)". Below you see "One Kopek" ... Christian
On the Obverse it says: Mednaya Rossiskaya Moneta Copper/Brass Russian Coin Odna Kopeka One Kopeck On the reverse: 1898 Goda Year of 1898 1 Kopeka SPV Saint Petersburg (not sure what the V stands for)
It is hard to recognize in the picture, however I think the third character is this, hmm, open B and not the one that looks like "our" B. In other words, it is not this character ... ... but this one that is part of the mint mark: And that would be "SPB" in, well, Western/Latin script. Not that it matters much, but a while ago I tried learning those Cyrillic characters so that I could at least decipher to some extent what is written on Russian and Bulgarian coins Christian
"1898 GODA" The meaning of Russian Cyrilic script is "1898 GODA" = Year 1898. It is a common style and the coin is also common. (1 Kopeika)
On modern post-Commie Russian coins,the Cyrillic letter 'g' is after the date on the larger 1 Rouble coins upwards.In the Ukraine,the Cyrillic letter 'g' is actually an 'h'.
